A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about a new salsa band called La Excelencia, a solid band from NY delivering hard salsa with a message. It sounded a bit raw, kinda 70’s, and it had tons of swing.  They toured around, including the UK, even performing for a BBC special! Somewhere down the line they fizzled away…luckily not for  long. Back comes Edwin Perez, its co-founder and main singer – a sonero with flavour, swing and his very own style – with his first solo album.

This is swinging salsa from NY, moving away from the jazzy/harder sound that has been coming out of the US, but maintaining  sophistication and punch. It’s a more more mature production than La Excelencia and includes some great guests such as Gilberto “Pulpo” Colon on piano and Luisito Quintero, probably the best timbal player alive. A great debut from the Puerto Rican.